One of the the things that has made a huge difference in my college theatre career has been getting involved in as many organizations as I can.

There's a lot going on in the world right now - and with social distancing, it's easy to feel alone. But as Sondheim taught us, No One is Alone. Everything is kinda crazy - how do we, maybe the touchiest and neediest kinds of people, manage being away from our theatre family for God knows how long?

Each year at DeSales University, the class of graduating seniors has the incredibly unique opportunity of taking on, first-hand, the task of uniting as their own theatre company to produce a children's show, building everything from the ground up. Nearly a year ago, my class started to gather (sometimes at unmentionable hours) to choose our show, as well as vote on which members of our class would make up the fabulous production team. For our capstone project, we, rather unanimously, landed on The Jungle Book, and the planning began!

As a Senior Theatre Major at Texas Christian University, the spring break of my last semester was to be spent in NYC showcasing before dozens of industry professionals between three showcases and an evening at 54 Below. Little did I know that my trip would be marked by one of the biggest moments in Broadway history. 

Unfortunately, when our campus closed and we were sent home, our play was put on the backburner. It hasn't been officially closed and there's hope for it being pushed for the next semester, but it is tremendously disappointing, nonetheless. 

Frustrated, restless, anxious. Do these feelings sound familiar? The times that I should be up in front of the class performing or directing children in a TYA scene, I am now spending staring at my computer screen. I want to be doing things, not simply discussing doing things. I find myself grieving: Grieving the missed opportunities, grieving my lack of control, grieving the loss of my immediate and intimate community at Samford University.

When I was a wee senior in high school, I wanted to go to college in New York. I had crazy dreams of living in a penthouse apartment, taking classes right in the heart of Manhattan, then gallivanting around Broadway every night. Lots of younger friends of mine have expressed their concerns that going to a non-city school worries them. Never fear, theatre kids of tomorrow-I'm here to assuage your fears. 

The end of the term is approaching. I know, prime time for being exhausted, stressed, and over it. I'm one 10-week quarter away from summer, and I'm at the point where I can't imagine doing this all over again after spring break.

When I walked into the audition room for Oh, What a Lovely War (the fourth and final show of Hart House's season), I was expecting that the production would be a remount of the beloved Joan Littlewood First World War satire musical from the 1960s.

As a student in Hong Kong, our classes were put on halt since Chinese New Year (which is mid-January), and school has been suspended since, and the earliest we would be able to go back to school is in April. A lot of shows and productions were cancelled. And job opportunities dropped. We have also been advised to stay home to lower the chances of infection and transmission. So what have we been doing to keep in shape, and continue learning?

We've all heard the stigma against high schools and universities putting on shows that aren't the best, but I'd like to end that now. This past weekend my university, SCAD in Savannah, Georgia, put on one of the best shows I've ever seen!

Six the Musical. A musical all about the six ex-wives of Henry The 8th in a 1hr 30min concert. It may seem a little different to some but in all honesty, it is all based on history. And think about it, learning history through a concert musical on Broadway? YES PLEASE.

What does being transgender mean in the context of theatre today? How do we overcome the strict challenges that come with it? Hello. My name is Cam Brillon, and I am currently a sophomore acting major at ECSU. All my life, theatre is something that I've felt a great affinity for. And like many of us, I decided to major in acting to attempt to make my dream a reality. 

I don't know what it was that made last week so hectic. Maybe it was the craziness of midterms, maybe it was the stress of being back in tech, maybe it was Mercury in retrograde or whatever. All I know is that I couldn't have prepared for the chaos of last week if I tried. In the midst of all of the insanity, I found that I had to plan my schedule for spring quarter, and in doing so, I genuinely contemplated what (if any) drama classes I would enroll in. I know that feeling burned out is temporary, but it weighed strongly on me when I thought, what if I just decided to take Literary Journalism electives and phase out of the Drama classes?

We all have loved ones that don't share our love for the performing arts - whether they don't like watching people randomly break into song and dance or they just have never given them a chance, but usually they will see how important it is to you and try their best to keep up.

At some point in college, pretty much everybody has a moment where they wonder, am I over this? Some switch their major, some stick it out and hope that feeling passes, and I'm here in the middle of all of it to admit: I'm burned out. My acting class is a struggle, I'm unable to focus, and there have been days when my alarm goes off for my 8am class and I truly contemplate dropping Drama and just sticking with Literary Journalism.

I'm a first year and prospective drama major at Vassar College, a liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, NY. Here's a typical day in my life!

This past weekend, I sat down and watched the Oscars. As I championed on some of my favorite films and those creative minds behind them, I reflected on those who were perhaps snubbed or didn't win in certain categories and it made me think about my own career and work as a creative individual. When you produce something which you love and pour your soul into, whether that be a story, a performance in a show, your photography, you never want to hear negative things about it.

Having quick access to professional theatre no doubt made an impact on my love for the arts. Growing up in Minneapolis, I was surrounded by a booming arts community with opportunities to watch or perform pretty much whenever I wanted to. I didn't realize how rare and fortunate that was until I moved out of the Twin Cities for college. Now, I live in a wonderful small town in Iowa, but there is no professional theatre in sight.

It's the third week of the semester, and I can already feel myself losing steam. My eyes droop, my limbs feel heavy, and all I find myself doing is sluggishly wandering from classroom to classroom like some kind of backpack-wearing zombie. A combination between exhaustion and depression, it's not uncommon to start feeling this way once the back-to-school excitement has worn off. Seeing your friends again is exciting- being flooded by hundreds of upcoming deadlines isn't.

One of the beauties of theatre is that it can be used as a platform to express a spectrum of stories and emotions. It is designed to take the audience on an emotional journey and leave them changed. One thing that is important to recognize, though, is the toll it can take on the performers. Telling an emotional story 8 times a week will not only leave a lasting impact on the audience, but on the actors, too. So, how do we, as actors, find balance between ourselves and our work?

This past weekend, five of my classmates and I traveled to Huntsville, Texas to compete in the USITT Southwest Winter Symposium Student Design, Tech, and Management competition (long title, I know). For people who don't know, USITT is the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, which hosts a big technical theatre conference each spring in a different city. USITT Southwest Winter Symposium is kind of a smaller version of that.

As a self-proclaimed nerd and likely (albeit undeclared) drama major in college, one of my favorite pastimes is keeping up with current events in the theater world. I aspire to work in the theater industry someday, and staying engaged and informed is an essential part of working towards that goal. I've compiled a list of the 9 podcasts, publications, and media outlets (in no particular order) that inspire me and keep me feeling up to date.

Whenever I take a trip across the Channel from France to England, seeing a show (or two or three) is always one of my top priorities. Unfortunately, tickets for shows on the West End (or even just around London in general) tend to be expensive and out of my price range, especially as a university student. But fortunately, I have found some tricks that enable me to see shows at relatively low prices. Today, I'm going to be discussing how to get tickets for West End shows for a student budget.